


Token

by onnall



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 06:39:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5858245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onnall/pseuds/onnall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So they took some souvenir after visiting a planet...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Token

As the First Order's influence expanded from the Unknown Region inward to the more civilized part of the Galaxy, more developed and populated worlds began to be included onto the Order's star map.

After the surrender of this new planet, knowing that some of his older officers who had experienced the more flourished life of the Empire in their youth were craving for a change of the dullness on the Finalizer, Hux announced that the fleet would stay on this world till the next morning to hand over to the troops that would be stationed here for future peace keeping.

"Sir, the progam recommended by the local goverment is ready to be reviewed." Kylo Ren was gazing out into the darkness when an officer came to notify him by the observation portal. He turned to his side and nodded to acknowledge.

The local government had offered a banquet for the senior officers, but General Hux refused, under Snoke's instruction. So the local government selected a few shows and other attractions and recommended them to the First Order officers for the night.

Kylo Ren was not impressed by the list. This world did comedy pretty well, Ren knew this from his childhood memories. No, Ben Solo's childhood memories. But he didn't care for comedy that much. Another thing also rose from that memory, a market place, where you could buy almost anything this world had to offer, with small restaurants and cafes offering food and drinks you could actually enjoy, and young talents singing, dancing, acting by the aisles, around the corners of the market.

Kylo Ren decided to go to that market place.

He put on the shirt that least screamed 'Kylo Ren' and walked out of his quarters. He was confident that he could pass as just another stormtrooper or crew member, not the menacing Knight of Ren.

\-------------------------------------

The market was just as big and eventful as he remembered. Kylo Ren wasn't really looking for anything specific, he just wandered from one stand to another, ailse after ailse. Sometimes he stopped to look on for a while if the owner of the stand was working on a handycraft, or the performance was really interesting. As a not so peaceful person, Ren didn't find this noisy market annoying, he also wasn't bothered by the fact that people accidently bumped into him all the time.

Then a pot plant stand caught his attention. Most of the plants on the stand were just ordinary plants you could find on more than one world, but there was this one type, dark, charcoal grey stems and leaves, with little buds of different colors mounted between the leaves and the stems. Ren didn't know whether it was the light or it was the buds themselves, they seemed to be shining.

"Young boy, you like the plants?" The old lady at the stand smiled at him and gestured for him to come closer.

Ren hesitated, the old lady gestured again and pushed one of those odd plants forward. "Come on, you can take a closer look."

He slowly moved closer to the stand and picked up one plant with both hands. Now he really examined it, he realised the 'buds' weren't really buds ready to blossom into flowers, they were little balls of something like fur, or hair, or silk, some kind of fiber, and they were glowing.

He put down the plant, hesitated whether to ask the price. "This is pretty." He wasn't really planning to buy anything tonight, but thought he should let the old lady know he appreciated the merchandise.

"Oh, thank you. I take it you are not from around here? This is what we use to produce high end fabric. See?" She pointed to the blue scarf she was wearing. The scarf seemed to be made of something smoother and finer than any type of silk Ren had ever seen, and glimmering. "Of course this was made from industrial standard plants. These pot plants have been genetically modified to come in smaller size. People just use them to decorate the room." The old lady's warm smile never faded on her face.

Ren scanned the plants on the stand again, and spotted one with orange 'buds', very light orange, with a hint of red, also emitting a golden glimmer, like the sunrise. It was stashed behind several other plants. This pot reminded him of a person. "This one." He pointed to the plant, "Does it stay this way? Or does it wither after a few days?"

"Oh you've got good eyes, son." The old lady reached out to take the plant out from behind leaves. "See now it's got five little fiber gains, they will fall in about a month. New ones will grow out in the mean time, see that tiny little dot here?" The old lady pointed to a leaf on the lower half of the plant. "That's a new fiber gain ready to come out. This will go on for about three months. Then all of them will fall, the stems and leaves will turn black until next year around the same time, new fiber gains come out."

"How much is it?"

"This sunrise color is a rare kind, 39 creds." The old lady put the plant back onto the counter.

Ren briefly considered using the mind trick on the old lady, but finally decided not to. "15." He bargained.

"Oh, son, you are killing me. 30 creds, I can't give no more. I can let you take this fine pot with you but I can't move the price no more." She reached down behind the counter and took out a grey pot. It was similar to the color of the plant, just a few shades lighter, with waves and tides carved on it.

"OK." Ren didn't really care about the price, he just thought bargaining the market is a must.

"Is this a gift? I can wrap it really nice for you?" The old lady gave Ren a wink.

"It's just for myself, simply pack it would be enough." Ren put the credit chips on the counter.

"OK, I'll move it into the new pot and pack it with this paper bag." The old lady counted the chips and started working on the plant.

\-------------------------------------

When Kylo Ren opened the door to General Hux's quarters, he was not expecting to see Hux in there.

"I thought you'd still be at the shows." He walked to the table at the corner of the room where Hux usually sat to read things that were not work. "I got something for the room." He unwrapped the plant and put it at the center of the table.

"I didn't go. The programs seemed boring." Hux went to the hanger to get something from the pocket of his coat and walked to the table. "I went to their local market. Oh my, it's a huge place."

"Oh we went to the same place. I got this from there." Ren pointed to the plant.

Hux sat down next to the table and regarded the plant closely. "It's lovely. It looks... Thank you."

Hux didn't say it, but he realised the color of the little balls on the plant was the same as his hair color. It was giving out a glow between orange and red under the dim light in the room. "I got something for you." He pointed at the Lightsaber on Ren's belt, "May I?"

Ren was puzzled by this request, but he unbuckled the Lightsaber and handed it over to Hux anyway.

Hux had a braided string in his hand. The string was about finger wide, but flat like a thick piece of sheet, braided and woven together with red and black laces, the red was like fire, like the blade of Ren's Lightsaber, and the black was like the darkness surrounding their Star Destroyer, but somehow even the black was lustrous. "The lace is made from a local plant. So they told me at the market." Hux explained as he wound and twined it to the intersection of the handle and the crossguard on the Lightsaber and let the rest of the string flow down.

"That's the same plant I got, just different color."

"Here you go." Hux finished with the new token on the Lightsaber and handed it back to Kylo Ren. "If it bothers you when you use the Lightsaber, just take it down."

"It doesn't." Ren buckled the Lightsaber back onto his belt.

**Author's Note:**

> I refuse to explain why Kylo Ren didn't have the token when we saw him in TFA.
> 
> I also thought about letting him put on the disguise of Matt when he went out, but gave up the idea lol.
> 
> Found an interesting page when I was writing this: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=442915


End file.
